yo
 

was watching a stream on twitch.tv and saw none other than mother****in Patashu in chat...then i suddenly remembered FFR/SM so just thought i'd check up on my (formerly) fellow keyboard warriors

it's been like two and a half years, but i recognize a handful of people still posting here. how's it been?

guess i'll go ahead and add that if there's anyone still here i was at odds with from back whenever, i'd like to apologize for being an immature prick. snotty egotistical adolescent and internet don't mix well, for sure haha

anywho, i don't intend on returning to the arcane art of fingering keyboards...just a distant spectator now, if anything

tl;dr what's up?

Re: yo
 

the (sun)

Re: yo
 

oh shit its ieat

Re: yo
 

this

How's it goin bro?

Re: yo
 

Oh wow, it's been so long. How are you?

Re: yo
 

Is this another person better than me coming back to FFR?

Stop.

Re: yo
 

:D

Re: yo
 

doing pretty well, still a prisone-I mean...student

how's the step scene these days? has everyone evolved into keyboard-dominating champions with midare MA and Thaor PA? any of the fossils still playing? (i see you, Dynam0...)

stepfile scene also looks like it's still going strong...any new ~revolutionary~ techniques? or still kickin it old skool?

Re: yo
 

Oh hi there, people still play stepmania, and some got ridiculously good too

Re: yo
 

stepmania isn't dead—we are pumping out more simfiles and megapacks than ever before

and people have achieved a new set of high standards for skill (MA and Speed)

Re: yo
 

Nah, Thaor's abilities still stand the test of time. There are a lot of newer players that are getting quite good, along with some surprising old-timers returning. Some old-time players returned temporarily but left again (e.g. Arch0wl), and others currently seem to be here to stay (e.g. danceguy, Dynam0). Right now, there are some very notably insane SM players - see Staiain's gameplay videos for instance.

Indeed, more people than ever are getting into stepping. Stepping is more of an alternate activity for many players now, as opposed to a few people producing the files for the masses. New techniques? I'm not sure, but there's definitely more stepping in solo (6 keys). And yes, there has been occasional yearnings for old-school stepping (see Rebound's Nostalgia Pack).

Re: yo
 

sup.

Re: yo
 

Oh hi there
A lot of people got really good, Staiain and Isaac especially.

Re: yo
 

hi

Re: yo
 

just watched some vids from the Davis meetup...damn whippersnappers these days are crazy, yo

Re: yo
 

holy shit

Re: yo
 

HOW ARE YOU MAN caps lol

Re: yo
 

hiya puppet, pretty toasty...good to see the community still has its resident alpha seal heh

also man that meetup looked so dope

Re: yo
 

Yeah it was truly amazing

Re: yo
 

sup ieat!

As I've been stating since 2007/2008, Stepmania is NOT dead. It definitely got quieter in that period but at some point activity has picked up not only in simfile artistry but also in competitive rivalry.


Players like Dossar, Isaac, and leonid have been re-defining what a AAAable or even FCable file is. Getting scores that rival or beat Thaor or Wooke's best scores. (Almost There/Gigadelic/Superluminal approach AAAs and Counting Snow/Frictional Nevada for FCs respectively to name a couple)

Alexdest, Puppet, GundamDude, samurai, and I suppose I could include myself have been attaining midare or even Nima-like MA. See Puppet's 0x1311 14 perf or Alexdest's 11 perf Psicicite for that

Then there's Speed/Stamina Gods like Staiain and more recently kaiten whom I never knew ended up being a beast. Destroying Thaor's Blue Planet and getting insane rate scores/passes. The first group of players I listed should be included in this list as well.

The bs alarms aren't raised nearly as much anymore since making vids has become increasingly easy with the evolution of smartphones and such, most players are respected and have all been proven legit from multiple vids, some of which have met in person and played together.


Just to end this blab I will agree the influx in the quantity of stepfiles and packs have definitely increased. However, with the pool of simfiles growing ever larger, so does the number of simfiles that I would consider 'unappealing'. There are almost an infinite number of japanime files of the style that only Zaghurim or Kilga could have hoped to have popularized to this degree now and I don't care too much for them. That being said, many files ARE of high quality and innovation and shouldn't take away from the fact that stepping files is much more refined and mastered.